The 'West Wing' alum makes a cringe-worthy joke about the scandal that involved an underage girl, saying that it's 'the best thing that ever happened to me.'
- Oct 24, 2019
AceShowbiz - Rob Lowe has come under fire for making a cringe-worthy joke about his sex tape scandal involving a 16-year-old girl. The 55-year-old actor revisited his decades-old mistake during a visit to Sirius XM's "The Jess Cagle Show" earlier this week and sparked new backlash for his comments.
Not expressing his regret about the sex tape, the former "The West Wing" does regret that he "didn't make any money off" the explicit video. "I invented [the sex tape]," he jokingly said. "And the problem was, I didn't make any money off of it like everybody does now. I was too stupid."
Rob also credited the scandal for getting him sober. "I woke up one day, was like, 'What am I doing with my life?' ... I think it's the best thing that ever happened to me," he shared. "Honestly, I do, because it got me sober. Sober got me married. Been married 29 years and have two great sons. So, I don't think any of that happens without going through that scandal."
The "Brothers & Sisters" alum has since been chastised for his comments about the 1988 scandal. One wrote on Twitter, "@RobLowe reflects on the infamous #scandal that changed his life: 'It got me sober'. Very glad you are #sober . Very sad you don't wish to #apologize to the 16 year old #girl."
Another slammed Rob as bring "creepy, "cringeworthy and disgusting." A third user commented, "The fact that Rob Lowe's regret isn't that he had sex with a 16 year old is repulsive." Another mocked him, "So a rich white male conservative feels open enough to say taped child rape is the best thing in his life. Bold move, @RobLowe!"
Comedian Nikki Glaser weighed in, "Rob Lowe defies age ... restrictions. You look like you are sculpted. You put the statue in statutory rape." She sarcastically added, "I had such a crush on Rob as a little girl. If only I knew that's when I would have had my best shot."
Rob has not responded to the backlash. He had in the past insisted that he didn't know the girl was underage. Rob never faced a criminal charge for sleeping with the 16-year-old girl because the age of consent in Georgia was 14 at the time, before it was raised to 16 in 1995. However, it was illegal for someone under 18 to be involved in such a recording.
